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icepixieSo! Doctor visit accomplished, though thanks to insurance snafus it took much longer than necessary. *pines for universal health care* I am now armed against tetanus for another ten years, have interesting silver-based burn cream to keep out germs, and have been pronounced infection-free. Hurrah.
In celebration, some thoughts on B5.
There All the Honor Lies
I feel like I should like this episode more than I do. The subplot about the gift shop is pretty hilarious, yeah, but the main plot does very little for me. It feels a bit like Peter David is running around yelling joyfully that he gets to write about a species full of Klingon/Vulcan hybrids--a warrior race that got logic.
One thing I did like was the Londo/Vir subplot. Oh, Vir. Sometimes I think you might be my favorite character after Ivanova. It's nice that Londo works his power-mongering magic for Vir, although I think it wasn't entirely altruistic; Vir, presumably, reminds Londo of why he's sold his soul to get the Centauri back in the galactic limelight, and he wants that reminder to stick around to shore him up when he loses faith that he's doing the right thing. (Ironically, of course, Vir would like nothing better than to convince him he's doing exactly the wrong thing...)
I still don't get the significance of "one moment of perfect beauty." It also strikes me that they would've done better to let us imagine it, rather than show it and have it be inevitably disappointing.
I only noticed this because I just watched "Infection" for![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-community.gif)
beyond_the_rim: Ashan (the Minbari witness) mentions Santayana's aphorism about those who don't learn from history are doomed to repeat it. Ivanova quotes it, with attribution, in the earlier episode. Seems apropos for the series.
One last thing: really, what does Sheridan have against the bear? I love the bear! I would totally buy one if they were for sale! Poor bear. :(
And Now for a Word
All right, burning question: how old is Ivanova? Her file in "Eyes" says she was born in August of 2230, which would make her 27 when the show starts in 2258. In this episode, she says she finished OTC "ten years ago"--2249--which would have made her 18/19 when she got out, depending on the actual graduation date. If "OTC" is supposed to be a descendant of the British Army's, where you do your training and get your university degree at the same time, then presumably she should have been another year or possibly two years older when she got out. But hey, she's pretty awesome; I'd buy her being ahead by a year. However, in In the Beginning, which to the best of my understanding is set somewhere in 2245/6, Ganya tells her she's supposed to be at the university. Unless she's bright enough to be going to university at fifteen, something's not quite right here.
This is partially complicated by the fact that I still have no idea exactly how long the Earth-Minbar War lasted. Hmmm.
I like the format of this one, even though Cynthia Torqueman is a jerk. (She makes Delenn cry! I mean, yes, Delenn's change, and her whole attitude toward the humans--"Look at all the trouble I went to! You should be grateful!"--is kind of patronizing, but still, that was mean.) The documentary format allowed us to get quite a bit of background on the political environment of the galaxy and of Earth in particular. It essentially confirms my supposition that the balance of power goes, roughly, Vorlons-->Minbari-->Centauri-->Humans-->Narn-->Various non-aligned worlds, although I'm not sure that this structure holds up over the next couple of years. We also get more evidence of how heavily the Minbar-Earth War still hangs over over the humans, and there's some fairly explicit connections made between it and the current militarization and isolationism.
Speaking of the galactic balance of power, Londo's assertion that the Centauri "civilized" the "primitive" Narn made me wonder if JMS had the colonial relationship between Britain and Ireland in the back of his mind when he thought up this relationship. If you read nineteenth century prose on the topic, you'll frequently run into those terms. (I guess he probably had any number of colonial relationships in mind--I'm sure you can find those terms in many places--but I know the most about the Irish one, so it jumps immediately to mind.)
ISN is incredibly biased even this early, isn't it? From the very beginning, they're all "OMG Mars terrorism against the Earth-loyal majority!", which, as I recall, we find out later isn't quite true. They also exhibited a certain Shadowy cast to their language at the end--"growth only comes through pain and struggle." Hmmm.
Delenn's bit of "Yay humans and their community-building skillz!" at the end irked me, as the HUMANS R SPESHUL nods generally do, but eh. Whatever.
Finally:
Sheridan: "The last thing the Centauri want is a war on two fronts."
Me: "No, they want one on TWELVE fronts." (cf "Ceremonies of Light and Dark")
In celebration, some thoughts on B5.
There All the Honor Lies
I feel like I should like this episode more than I do. The subplot about the gift shop is pretty hilarious, yeah, but the main plot does very little for me. It feels a bit like Peter David is running around yelling joyfully that he gets to write about a species full of Klingon/Vulcan hybrids--a warrior race that got logic.
One thing I did like was the Londo/Vir subplot. Oh, Vir. Sometimes I think you might be my favorite character after Ivanova. It's nice that Londo works his power-mongering magic for Vir, although I think it wasn't entirely altruistic; Vir, presumably, reminds Londo of why he's sold his soul to get the Centauri back in the galactic limelight, and he wants that reminder to stick around to shore him up when he loses faith that he's doing the right thing. (Ironically, of course, Vir would like nothing better than to convince him he's doing exactly the wrong thing...)
I still don't get the significance of "one moment of perfect beauty." It also strikes me that they would've done better to let us imagine it, rather than show it and have it be inevitably disappointing.
I only noticed this because I just watched "Infection" for
beyond_the_rim: Ashan (the Minbari witness) mentions Santayana's aphorism about those who don't learn from history are doomed to repeat it. Ivanova quotes it, with attribution, in the earlier episode. Seems apropos for the series.One last thing: really, what does Sheridan have against the bear? I love the bear! I would totally buy one if they were for sale! Poor bear. :(
And Now for a Word
All right, burning question: how old is Ivanova? Her file in "Eyes" says she was born in August of 2230, which would make her 27 when the show starts in 2258. In this episode, she says she finished OTC "ten years ago"--2249--which would have made her 18/19 when she got out, depending on the actual graduation date. If "OTC" is supposed to be a descendant of the British Army's, where you do your training and get your university degree at the same time, then presumably she should have been another year or possibly two years older when she got out. But hey, she's pretty awesome; I'd buy her being ahead by a year. However, in In the Beginning, which to the best of my understanding is set somewhere in 2245/6, Ganya tells her she's supposed to be at the university. Unless she's bright enough to be going to university at fifteen, something's not quite right here.
This is partially complicated by the fact that I still have no idea exactly how long the Earth-Minbar War lasted. Hmmm.
I like the format of this one, even though Cynthia Torqueman is a jerk. (She makes Delenn cry! I mean, yes, Delenn's change, and her whole attitude toward the humans--"Look at all the trouble I went to! You should be grateful!"--is kind of patronizing, but still, that was mean.) The documentary format allowed us to get quite a bit of background on the political environment of the galaxy and of Earth in particular. It essentially confirms my supposition that the balance of power goes, roughly, Vorlons-->Minbari-->Centauri-->Humans-->Narn-->Various non-aligned worlds, although I'm not sure that this structure holds up over the next couple of years. We also get more evidence of how heavily the Minbar-Earth War still hangs over over the humans, and there's some fairly explicit connections made between it and the current militarization and isolationism.
Speaking of the galactic balance of power, Londo's assertion that the Centauri "civilized" the "primitive" Narn made me wonder if JMS had the colonial relationship between Britain and Ireland in the back of his mind when he thought up this relationship. If you read nineteenth century prose on the topic, you'll frequently run into those terms. (I guess he probably had any number of colonial relationships in mind--I'm sure you can find those terms in many places--but I know the most about the Irish one, so it jumps immediately to mind.)
ISN is incredibly biased even this early, isn't it? From the very beginning, they're all "OMG Mars terrorism against the Earth-loyal majority!", which, as I recall, we find out later isn't quite true. They also exhibited a certain Shadowy cast to their language at the end--"growth only comes through pain and struggle." Hmmm.
Delenn's bit of "Yay humans and their community-building skillz!" at the end irked me, as the HUMANS R SPESHUL nods generally do, but eh. Whatever.
Finally:
Sheridan: "The last thing the Centauri want is a war on two fronts."
Me: "No, they want one on TWELVE fronts." (cf "Ceremonies of Light and Dark")
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no subject
Date: 2010-07-13 01:27 am (UTC)Interesting. So if you were being really diabolical, you could arrange for the local werewolf to be chased by peasants with torches and horribly burned, then offer him the cream to soothe his injuries....
(Can you tell I have a twisted mind? Heh heh heh.)
no subject
Date: 2010-07-13 05:21 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-07-12 08:59 pm (UTC)That's a good point - the Minbari plots occasionally remind me of the sorts of things that get written for the Romulans. Cold and calculating in the pursuit of their overwhelming passions, and bound by their own weird but very strict concepts of honor. They're so much more interesting than any of the three, though, at least IMHO.
I still don't get the significance of "one moment of perfect beauty."
I believe that would be "JMS is trying to look deep." Seriously, there's a bit somewhere in the guide (I can't remember where - I was just flipping aimlessly when I found it) where he's quoted giving this... totally pseudo-spiritual line that he says to write down and it'll make perfect sense at the end of the series. That must've been something he lost at a con or got sick and forgot or something, because, even after seeing the whole series, it makes exactly zero sense to me. He just kind of throws things out that sound deep until you think about them.
And I might be totally wrong, but my guess is that the constant confusion over Ivanova's age is a similar bit of confusion. No doubt each number made sense for him at the time, and he utterly forgot he'd already established something different.
Cynthia Torqueman is a jerk. (She makes Delenn cry! I mean, yes, Delenn's change, and her whole attitude toward the humans--"Look at all the trouble I went to! You should be grateful!"--is kind of patronizing, but still, that was mean.)
Yes! No matter how much I (gleefully) remark on how presumptuous, arrogant, brutal, and weirdly self-centered Delenn can be, nobody is allowed to make her cry.
Delenn's bit of "Yay humans and their community-building skillz!" at the end irked me, as the HUMANS R SPESHUL nods generally do, but eh. Whatever.
Every time someone says something about that, I just want to shake them. Or, better, JMS. Sooooo tedious.
no subject
Date: 2010-07-13 12:09 am (UTC)I believe that would be "JMS is trying to look deep."
Oh, JMS. You need to just concentrate on your story and your characters and let the deepness come from that. If you have to explain it, then you didn't do it right.
And I might be totally wrong, but my guess is that the constant confusion over Ivanova's age is a similar bit of confusion. No doubt each number made sense for him at the time, and he utterly forgot he'd already established something different.
Yeah, there's a similar thing with her mother's death--one episode puts it the year before Ganya's (so she's mid- to late-teens), and in "Divided Loyalties," she says she was still playing with dolls. I think the B5 Chronology website just split the difference and said she was ten. *g* (Me, I'm inclined toward the later end of the age range, because in "Midnight on the Firing Line," she seems to have genuine adult understanding of how depressed/out of it her mother got before she killed herself.)
When I still watched Bones, a friend and I had an ongoing joke about how the staff needed to collect spare change outside the studio so they could hire a script supervisor to keep all these little details in line. Perhaps JMS could've done the same. ;) (Although his sins are so, so many fewer than Bones's...)
Every time someone says something about that, I just want to shake them. Or, better, JMS. Sooooo tedious.
Perhaps introduce him to the Planet of Hats page at TV Tropes?
(There's a great article in this book that deals tangentially with this topic, and really goes into good detail about how it plays out in the series. If you do a search for "Babylon," "human," and "exceptionalism," you should be able to get right to the pages about it and, I think, read them all in the preview.)
no subject
Date: 2010-07-13 02:53 am (UTC)and werewolves, I presume! dual-action!
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